I was always frustrated by the scientific implausability of Anderson's live-action series, but I sure as heck watched them, because they were always well produced and usually entertaining. And during the '70s they were some of the only "space" shows on TV.

As for his puppet shows . . . oh, man, did those blow me away as a little kid. My earliest memory of a specific TV show is Fireball XL-5. Later, I watched Stingray and was utterly intrigued as a six year old by Thunderbirds. I had my mom sew me a International Rescue sash and cap from blue burlap-like material. Had the Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird 1 motorized models.

The fox urine is mixed with glycerin and water and is sprayed on the trunks of hundreds of evergreens in city parks to prevent them from getting clandestinely cut down and stolen. The smell of the fox urine is dulled outdoors in the cold, but becomes unbearable when “thawed” and brought into a warmer environment, like a house.

“The fox urine smells like skunk. And this year, we added a little bit of skunk essence to it, so it’s a really good batch,” Dave Allder, a city parks supervisor, told the Lincoln Journal Star.

The freedom to vote, drive, conduct business, earn money, drink, smoke, swear, own a gun or wear pants was traditionally the exclusive province of men. Young girls were commonly forced into arranged marriages, often with much older men in distant villages. As an alternative, becoming a Sworn Virgin, or ‘burnesha” elevated a woman to the status of a man and granted her all the rights and privileges of the male population. In order to manifest the transition such a woman cut her hair, donned male clothing and sometimes even changed her name. Male gestures and swaggers were practiced until they became second nature. Most importantly of all, she took a vow of celibacy to remain chaste for life. She became a “he”. This practice continues today but as modernization inches toward the small villages nestled in the Alps, this archaic tradition is increasingly seen as obsolete. Only a few aging Sworn Virgins remain.